Update (May 13, 2014): At the X-Men: Days of Future Past premiere in London on May 12, producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed that Channing Tatum would play Gambit in a forthcoming movie in the X-Men franchise. "It's Channing," she told Total Film. "He's a rogue. He's a rascal, just like Remy LeBeau. He can handle the action — we all know that. He's got a really good heart … He'll be great for Gambit. And he's a Southerner, too. He's not from New Orleans, but he's a Southerner, so he understands that world."

Original story (April 15, 2014): As if the X-Men franchise couldn't get even more star-studded — particularly with the prestigious cast of May's X-Men: Days of Future Past — Channing Tatum tells MTV Newsthat he's hoping to portray Gambit in an upcoming movie.

The kinetic-power-controlling, card-throwing mutant has only been a part of one X-Men movie so far — as a supporting character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Taylor Kitsch.

But Channing's version would likely be much more of a focal point, either in a standalone movie or in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse.

"Gambit is really the only X-Man I've ever loved," Channing says, citing the Southern roots he and Gambit have in common. "I just related to him. He's just kind of suave… He's the most un-X-Men X-Man that's ever been in X-Men … He's a thief. He's not even a hero … He loves women and drinking and smoking … So he's just a cool guy who happens to have a moral center."

Lauren Shuler Donner, the X-Men producer Channing says he's met with, is already a big fan of the Magic Mike star. "I'm dying to do a Gambit movie with Channing Tatum," she told Empire in January. "He's on board, and I have to get the studio on board. How can anyone resist Channing? He's such a sweetheart."

So will it happen? "You never know," Channing says. "It's a weird industry. If the stars align, I would die to play it. I'm already working on the accent. It's crappy at the moment."

Do you think Channing would be a good fit for the part? Let us know in the comments below.